Staunton vindicator. [volume] (Staunton, Va.) 1860-1896, 1887-11-25
Two Generations Ago /!

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WHAT A PAPER 63 YEARS AGO TALKED
ABoUT-EDUCATIoN IN THAT DAY
LAFAYETTE-THE NATIONAL ROAI
THAT DIDN'T COME UP THE VALLEY
PRESIDENTIAL ELECTION.
&C., &C., &C,
A friend has left at this Office copy O
1.-The Staunton Spectator and Republican
Farmer. printed by Kenton Harper in
1SA-just two generations ago. 1t lsn'
half the sizs of any of the Stanton papers
of to-day, but the paper of which it i.
made is tougher and better than any OF
them. OF editorial it has none, and of
local Items perhaps twenty lines.
| ADVERTISEMENTS.
| There are but two advertisements of
| business houses in lt,and they are the an
| nouncements of two rival copper smiths
James Kilkenny ION the Main street next
door to Mr.. Benjamin Crawford store,''
and Joseph Points, Jr., ION the Main
street, three doors west of Mr.. Geiger' 3
| tavern" Both of them advertise to make
stills, hatters' kettles, brewers kettles and
fulIers' kettles. The printing Office itself
advertlses 1.-THE Shorter Catechism for
| for sale at that office" And this-'sFor
sale a neat hack and mock charriottee;
enquire at tt is Office" This, except legal
notices and sales is all the advertising.
CHEAP EDUCATION.
In those days it must have been cheaper
to send boy Or girl to school, than it is
to keep them at home now.
James 6. Waddel who taught "Greek,
Latin and various branches of English
Llterature'' at his residence four miles
southwest of Staunton, advertises to re-
ceiYe scholars at $50 for the fall session of
five months, which includes "Board, TUT
tion and washing scholars finding their own
bedding candles and towels" The adver.
tisement OF the Female Academy at Lex
ington, taught by Miss Goosley, shows that
educating girls was nearly as cheap, the
whole expense for five months with board
at the Academy or in the family of the
Rev. V. R. Mason," being only sos.
THE MILITARY.
The Staunton Artillery was in it's early
days then and was expected to assist in
receiving Gen. Lafayette if he came. An
order signed by William II. Speck, Orderly
Sergeant, calls on the company to parade
at O'Clock on Thursday, November 4sb,
in full uniform. And the Committee of
Arrangements calls on all persons. mot
members of the Staunton Artillery" who
have muskets in possession belonging to
said company, to return them to the store
of j. B. Breckenridge & Go.
INVITING LAFAYETTE.
A meeting of citizens was held on the
Saturday previous to this, presided over
by Archibald Stuart with Erasmus Strib-
ling as Secretary, at which it was resolved
that Col. James Crawford and Edward
Valentine. Jr.. and James Il. Waddell be,
and they are hereby appointed comm ttee
to meet General LA Fayette at Charlottes-
vile, and ascertain whether. and what
time. it will suit his convenience to visit
Staunton." And the meeting also appointed
Judge A. Stuart. J. FL. Peyton, William
Boys, Eras. Stribling. Ch. A. Stuart, Peter
Heiskell. Edward Valentine, Jr., John b
Christian, John G. Sewers, Michael Gar
Der. Robert Doake, James Moffett, ard
John M. Estill, committee of arrange
ments to arrange the reception, accommo-
dalton, procession. and the like, for La
Fayette. And che audience, warming up
with the occasion, adopted resolution
"instructing" the Delegates for Augusta
county to the General Assembly, to uss
their efforts to get the legislature to grant
sum Of money to La Fayette for the pc
cuniary sacrifices he had made for Vir-
ginia, and further 'instructing" the re-
preventative in Congress from this district
to use his best efforts to get Gen. La
Fayette, "a grant of such portions of the
public lands as will be suitable to the
rank which he held in the Revolutionary
army" Augusta county had had sort
of personal interest given it in the matter,
from the fact that one OF its citizens, Gen.
Robert Porterfeld, patriot of the Revo-
luton. had gone to Richmond and parti-
cipated in the reception there of La
Fayette. and in conversation the distin-
guished Frenchman had told him that he
would decide after getting to Monticello,
whether or not he could get to Stanton.
THE NATIONAL ROAD.
The subject of national turnpike from
Washington to New Orleans was then be-
ing agitated, but the government had not
decided on its location. A joint meeting
of citizens of Augusta and Rockingham
was held at Port Republic. of which
Fontaine Graham. secretary. at which
memorial Was addressed to the govern
m ant setting forth the advantage of a
route through the Valley of Virginia. The
memorial favored route "crossing the
Blue Ridge at Thornton's Gap or Swift
Run Gap and passing up the Valley on
the Southside of the Shenandoah river
through Port Republic to Staunton, and
thence pursuing course through Lex
ington. Abingdon. and so on" 4 recon-
mendation to this route, the memorial
says, is that "the navigation of the Shen-
ando III River, which has been completed
as far as Port Republic, will also afford
safe, cheap and easy communication from
the road at this point with the National
Armory at Harper's Ferry" Ii The
route be adopted according to their plan,
say the peJitioners-from Washington to
Warrenton, from Warrenton to Thorn
ton 3 Gap, a ad from there to Staunton,
the distance between Stanton and Wash
ington would only be 1913 miles. Shenan-
doah and Page joined in the memorial
hut without avail (iouprass tOnk an0thAr